Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The Supreme Court has found that the retrospective provisions of the Bill on making lawful the imposition and payment of such charges in the past is unconstitutional in so far as this concerns the property rights of individuals. The provisions to allow such charging in the future were not found to be repugnant to the Constitution. When we deal with the Travers report we will also have to deal with that legislation. We had a meeting last week to discuss the process and the organisation of the repayments that have to be made. When the Travers report is available the Attorney General will have to look again at the legal aspects of it. We will have to decide how to put together a scheme of repayments that will be sufficiently fair. It is estimated that at least €500 million will have to be repaid. However, that matter must be considered in light of the Travers report and the Attorney General's ongoing examination of the Supreme Court judgment. The volume of calls on the Health Service Executive helpline has caused delays and difficulties. I hope additional operators will be employed to deal with calls from the public.

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